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Celebrating the holidays while making difference in the community

Baylor commemorated the holiday season by focusing on community outreach and by making spirits bright inside its offices, labs and clinics.

Community outreach

The holidays came early this year for middle school students at Baylor College of Medicine Biotech Academy at Rusk and Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan, thanks to the College’s community outreach effort with the Hess Corp. For the second year in a row, Baylor partnered with the Hess Corp. to give Hess’ famous toy trucks to local schoolchildren. The students thought they were gathering for an assembly to announce the winners of the schools’ Harvey Heroes art contests, but then were surprised to learn from members of the Hess Force community outreach team that each of them would be receiving the 2017 Hess Dump Truck and Loader.

Dr. Balasubramanyam handing out a toy truck!

The Baylor and Hess teams.

Dr. McDeavitt gifts a truck to a student.

Baylor leadership, including Dr. Jim McDeavitt, Dr. Nancy Moreno, Dr. Adam Kuspa, Dr. Ashok Balasubramanyam, Bob Corrigan and others, along with the Hess Force, presented a truck to each of the students.

“Our students work hard all year, so it’s wonderful that our community partners at Baylor College of Medicine and Hess were able to present these toys, especially in a year that has brought extra challenges because of Hurricane Harvey,” said Dr. Jyoti Malhan, founding principal at the BCM Academy at Ryan.

Baylor and Hess first joined forces last year to distribute the 2016 toy trucks to local children, and that resulted in the development by Baylor’s Center for Educational Outreach of STEM curriculum as a companion to the trucks. A new STEM curriculum featuring the 2017 Hess Dump Truck and Loader is available on the Hess website.

“The Center for Educational Outreach is a true partner to our Houston communities by providing resources for science and health education. STEM activities are fun and educational, and we are excited to partner with Hess on this curriculum and extend science resources to the entire country,” said Dr. Nancy Moreno, associate provost of faculty development and institutional research at Baylor.

Deck the halls

Baylor’s holiday spirit was not only evident through its community outreach, but also inside the College as well. Faculty, staff and trainees marked the season by decorating offices, clinics and labs and celebrating with one another. Check out the fun in this photo slideshow, and look for even more photos on Baylor’s social media accounts.